The Need for a Political Settlement (Edexcel A-Level History): Revision Notes

The Need for a Political Settlement

Lincoln's early reconstruction efforts (1863-1865)

President Abraham Lincoln began working to reunite the nation as early as 1863, even before the Civil War had ended. He understood that a clear plan was needed to bring the Confederate states back into the Union and establish stable governments in the South.

The Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (December 1863)

In December 1863, Lincoln issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, which outlined his approach to bringing Southern states back into the Union.

The key features included:

• The ten percent plan: Any former Confederate state could form a new state government once a number of voters equal to 10% of those who had voted in the 1860 presidential election took an oath of allegiance to the USA
• Those who took the oath would receive a pardon for their role in the rebellion
• The new state governments had to accept Reconstruction and the authority of the federal government

Early success of Lincoln's plan

By 1865, four former Confederate states had established pro-union provisional governments under Lincoln's plan:

• Tennessee
• Arkansas
• Louisiana
• Virginia (also recognised as a provisional government)

These states accepted the authority of the federal government and agreed to the terms of Reconstruction. Lincoln hoped this lenient approach would quickly restore the Union and encourage other Southern states to follow.

The Black Codes

What were the Black Codes?

After the Civil War ended, several state legislatures in the former Confederacy passed laws known as Black Codes. These were state laws designed to restrict the rights and freedoms of formerly enslaved people, essentially attempting to maintain white control over Black Americans despite the end of slavery.

Key restrictions under the Black Codes

The Black Codes varied by state but shared common features aimed at controlling Black Americans' lives:

Economic restrictions:

• In Mississippi, Black Americans were forbidden from owning land
• In South Carolina, they could not own property in towns
• These restrictions prevented freedmen from achieving economic independence

Movement and behaviour controls:

• Black people had to carry passes when travelling on roads
• They were forbidden from carrying weapons or alcohol
• These measures kept Black Americans under constant surveillance and control

Vagrancy laws:

• Perhaps the most harmful aspect of the Black Codes
• Former slaves who had left plantations to search for work or land could be arrested as vagrants
• When caught, they faced severe fines
• If they could not pay the fines, they were sold into private service until they worked off their debt
• This system was very similar to their former condition of slavery, creating a form of forced labour

Impact of the Black Codes

The Black Codes showed that despite military defeat, many white Southerners were determined to maintain racial hierarchy and control over Black labour. They effectively limited the meaning of emancipation, proving that legal freedom did not automatically bring real freedom or equality.

Lincoln's assassination and Johnson's succession

Lincoln's death (14 April 1865)

Andrew Johnson becomes president

Lincoln was succeeded by his Vice President, Andrew Johnson, a Southern politician from Tennessee. Johnson's background and views would significantly shape the course of Reconstruction:

Johnson's political background:

• He was a War Democrat - a member of the Democratic Party who had supported the federal government against the Confederacy during the Civil War
• Lincoln had chosen Johnson as his running mate in 1864 as a symbol of unity between Republicans and Democrats during the war
• He was self-educated and had previously served as a mayor, congressman, and military governor of Tennessee when much of that state was under Union control

Johnson's views on the South:

• He was strongly anti-Confederate and had an intense dislike of the plantation-owning class
• He claimed to be fighting against slave masters during the Civil War
• This led many Radical Republicans to initially believe he would take a hard line against the South

Johnson's views on race:

• Despite his opposition to the Confederate elite, Johnson believed that Black Americans were inferior to white Americans
• He had been a slave owner himself before the Civil War
• Before the war, he had even stated that he wished every family in the USA could have one slave to do menial work
• These racial attitudes would heavily influence his approach to Reconstruction

President Johnson's response to Reconstruction

Initial reactions

Johnson's early statements pleased Radical Republicans in Congress. When he declared that "treason is a crime and that crime must be punished," some Radical Republicans believed God had placed him in office to take a harder line than Lincoln would have done. One Radical Republican even claimed that God had kept Lincoln in office as long as he was useful, then substituted a better man to finish the job.

However, this optimism quickly faded when Johnson announced his actual Reconstruction programme.

Johnson's Reconstruction policies (May 1865 onwards)

General pardon (29 May 1865):

• Johnson extended a general pardon to former Confederates who were willing to take the oath of allegiance to the USA
• This was a very lenient policy that disappointed Radical Republicans
• Exceptions: Men who had held high office in the Confederacy, or whose taxable property exceeded $20,000 in value, were excluded from the automatic pardon
• However, even these individuals could obtain special pardons if they applied directly to President Johnson (and many did)

Recognition of provisional governments:

• Johnson decided to recognise the four pro-union provisional state governments that had been established under Lincoln's ten percent plan:
  • Virginia
  • Louisiana
  • Arkansas
  • Tennessee

Constitutional conventions in other states:

• Johnson requested other former Confederate states to hold constitutional conventions to re-establish elected governments
• This gave Southern states significant control over their own Reconstruction process

The problem of voting rights and former Confederates in office

Johnson made two critical decisions that undermined Reconstruction:

Voting qualifications left to states:

• Johnson allowed each state to decide who should be qualified to vote
• None of the former Confederate states accepted the idea that Black Americans should be enfranchised (given the right to vote)
• This meant that millions of freedmen had no political voice or representation

Former Confederates returned to power:

• Even worse, several states chose former senior Confederates for high office
• This meant that many of the same people who had led the rebellion against the United States were now back in positions of power
• This development alarmed Radical Republicans and many Northerners who felt that the South was not truly accepting defeat or change

Breakdown of relations with Congress

Johnson's lenient approach to Reconstruction caused his relationship with Radical Republicans in Congress to deteriorate rapidly. They believed he was allowing the South to restore the old social and economic order without truly reforming or punishing those who had rebelled.

Key terms

War Democrat: A member of the Democratic Party who supported the federal government against the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Radical Republican: A member of the Republican Party who wished to punish the South for causing the Civil War and wanted full equality for Black Americans.

Oath of allegiance: A formal pledge of loyalty to the United States of America.

Enfranchisement: The granting of the right to vote.

Black Codes: State laws passed in the former Confederacy that discriminated against and restricted the rights of formerly enslaved people.

Vagrancy laws: Laws that punished people who were unemployed or wandering without a fixed home, used particularly to control and punish freedmen.